dpsiminski's Identifications

I photographed this black bear on Oct. 9, 2023 along the East Fork of the White River on the Fort Apache Reservation in eastern Arizona. Specifically, the observation was made about 13 miles upriver from the Apache community of Whiteriver.

Pardon the technical quality but I snapped these shots very quickly, from a considerable distance, in terrible light (both images are heavily cropped, creating the appearance that I was closer than I really was). Also, even though the bear did not act threatening at all, I made no attempt to follow it for a closer shot as it wandered off into the woods. Still, you can see that it is indeed a bear. And yes, the bear is all wet, presumably from wallowing in the nearby river.

I photographed this black bear cub on May 13, 2022 along Carrizo Creek on the Fort Apache Reservation in east-central Arizona. Although virtually ignored by hikers, the drainage is a beautifully lush riparian area lined with tall trees, but just beyond the creek the terrain is relatively dry. Twenty-five miles farther downstream the creek feeds into the Salt River.

Initially, while hiking down Carrizo Creek, I thought I was observing a raccoon or coatimundi in that tree. Otherwise I never would have gotten this close to a bear cub, as its mother was no-doubt somewhere nearby. But there I was, unexpectedly face-to-face with the little guy, so I fired off a few photos very quickly using the camera's motor drive before scurrying away and leaving the bear alone.

I believe I also caught a fleeting glimpse of adult bear a mile or so farther down the creek but I'm not entirely sure, and I didn't get a photo.

I encountered this black bear on Oct 31, 2022 while hiking along the White River on the Fort Apache Reservation in Arizona. Specifically, I was about four miles upriver from the White River's confluence with the Black River (where the two rivers converge to form the beginning of the Salt River).

Initially the bear was at the river's edge but when it saw me coming it scrambled quickly up the canyonside. Then, when it was a "safe" distance, the bear laid down on a large smooth boulder, closed its eyes and actually appeared to take a nap.

I took these photos with a 300mm (telephoto) lens, then in Photoshop I cropped away about 80 percent of the image. So yes, I was close to the bear, but not THAT close.

Finally, four or five hours later I saw another bear in the same general area, but up near the canyon rim rather than down by the water. I cannot say if it was actually a different bear or if it was the one I saw earlier, especially since the second sighting was from a much greater distance.